The Good Life

One day last week I was driving to an appointment. The radio was tuned to one of the local news channels. I was listening.Headlines. Weather. Traffic. But, not really paying that much attention.And then a segment came on reporting on the cost of tickets for the Opening Ceremony of the upcoming summer Olympics. $3200/ticket, if I remember correctly. And then reported on the cost of a room at one of the palaces. $30,000/night.The segment ended with this tagline: And that is the Good Life Report for…and they gave the day.

Suddenly I was paying attention.Not to the radio station, but to the thoughts the news segment had triggered.The good life…A ticket for $3200.A night in a palace for $30,000.Really? While probably not intentional, the news segment subtly suggests that if you cannot buy that ticket or that night in the palace you do not have a good life or any chance of a good life. And most of us…the 99% of us…find ourselves in that category. Talk about class warfare! That news segment, a regular feature on that radio station, does a great disservice, not only its listeners, but to the wider community which it serves.

The Christian witness is fundamentally different.As is the witness of most faith traditions.For us, the good life has little, if anything, to do with the amount of money you have and everything to do with values like gratitude and the quality of the relationships that are a part of your life and how you treat other people and how you respond to those who find themselves in need. The good life is, in fact, available to everyone one of us each and every day.